Balance
by James MacPherson
Summary: With his life heading in a downward spiral, Ron accepts an invitation to a top secret warehouse of endless wonders, and endless danger.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome my attempt at the first Kim Possible/Warehouse 13 crossover. I want to quickly say, this is not a fusion. Ron and Kim won't be doing the parts of Pete and Myka.

My thanks to my beta for getting this ready.

With that said, onward with the story.

* * *

Chapter 1 - Situations

Ron Stoppable trudged on his way to his job at Smarty Mart, in the rain. He had nothing in his life. After he and Kim graduated from High School, Kim went to England for College. Ron on the other hand wasn't accepted anywhere out of the hundreds of colleges he applied to.

They attempted to keep their relationship strong but the days turned into weeks, and the months turned into years. Things just kept getting in the way from Kim having too much work to all air transportation being ground due to some storms, and other strange, unexplained occurrences.

Despite everything they tried, their relationship dissipated as they saw and heard less of each other as the time rolled by. After a mutual breakup, they started seeing other people, promising to get back together when Kim returned if they weren't with other people.

Eventually Kim returned from England, only to be engaged to a man named Eric Johnson. Ron felt his entire world shattered beyond repair when he met Eric, but he kept his composure together until they had parted ways. Ron then buried himself in his job, working as many hours as he could, so he could forget the pain he felt.

After that meeting, Ron saw Kim even less since she went to college. Now it came to a point that he would be lucky to even hear from her.

Ron couldn't bring himself to attend Kim's wedding, despite the invitation he got. Instead he moved away to Oregon and started working at the Smarty Mart he was transferred to. Everyone else he knew was leading a life they wanted.

Kim was married to Eric and both joined Global Justice.

Felix and Zeta started a new company, getting into the video game market.

Wade and Monique were dating, with Wade using new technology to better mankind and using the same technology to help Monique with her fashion designs, despite the fact he knew nothing of what she was doing.

Tara Jackson became a Historian and a world renowned Archeologist.

Jim and Tim were at College, working to follow in their father's footsteps.

Even Bonnie married Junior. Everyone had expected them to divorce before a week had past. Everyone was surprised that even after all this time, they were still a couple.

Drakken and Shego had disappeared from public knowledge shortly after their official pardon from the UN. It was unknown if they had secretly returned to crime, or went straight and lived under assumed names.

Ron reflected on the last year since Kim was married and his moving away. Everything seemed halted and he was stuck in the same place, like a maze with no exit. He was going nowhere, very quickly.

Ron was snapped out of thought when an ambulance soared passed and into the parking lot of Smarty Mart. Ron lost count of how many people were taken out of the store and to the Hospital, with no signs of anything wrong with any of the people. Each victim was paralyzed for unexplained reasons, leaving the doctors stumped.

Not just employees, but customers as well.

Ron suspected a new weapon by one of Kim's old villains since no one was paralyzed until a little more than week ago. The first was the new manager, followed by several employees that held no real power, then customers.

With the news spreading about the store, less and less people even shopped at that store. Those that did were considered either brave or foolish. That store was on the verge of being closed, pending an investigation.

Ron entered Smarty Mart, getting out of the weather. Something didn't seem right. It was natural for it to be raining in Oregon but the forecast didn't call for any rain for the next week. And since when did this weather man ever get anything wrong?

Ron arrived barely in the nick of time and clocked in before he was met with Jacob, a co-worker and his only friend in the store.

"Hey, Stoppable." Jacob approached Ron. "Someone wants to talk to you."

Ron seemed confused. Since he barely knew anyone in that area, the only people who would seek him would be someone from his past. But he made sure that no one would know where he went, and requested that Wade would let no one from his past find him. He also had the chip removed, despite Wade's protests.

"Who is it?" Ron asked.

"Secret Service, I suppose?" Jacob shrugged. "Since you knew every manager more than anyone else, they thought you might know something."

Jacob directed Ron to a room where he was greeted by a man with short brown hair and a woman with long dark brown hair, both wearing black suits and a black trench coat. The man was holding some sort of silver cylinder with a strap. As the what was inside, was a question Ron didn't think was his concern. When Ron came face to face with them, he got the impression that the man was more of a rule-bender than the woman.

"Mr. Stoppable?" The woman addressed Ron both flashed a Secret Service badge. "I'm Agent Bering and this is Agent Lattimer. We just have a few questions for you about the incidents with the victims."

"What does the Secret Service want to know about that?" Ron asked even though he knew that if whatever is causing those people to be paralyzed might be used for serious means.

"Whatever, or whoever is doing this, might use it for some evil scheme or something." Agent Lattimer replied calmly, which Ron expected one of the answers to be. Lattimer seemed a little distracted but it was for but a moment. "But we just want to make sure that whatever is causing these problems is stopped."

"Do you know if any of the managers or any employees had something that seemed unusual in anyway?" Agent Bering questioned Ron.

"Nothing comes to mind." Ron responded. "Ever since the building was finished being built a few months ago, nothing changed in their office."

"So they didn't bring anything in?" Agent Lattimer asked.

"Other than some personal items, I don't know." Ron didn't understand what these agents might be looking for but he had a feeling that there was something they weren't telling him.

Bering seemed like she was going to ask another question but hesitated before asking. "Do you... ever smell... fudge... when there wasn't any around?"

That was the strangest question Ron had even been asked. He didn't know if that was an actual serious question. He opened his mouth to question the question, but stopped himself and instead he said, "Actually, yes, but.. I... don't remember where."

"Could you take us to the Manager's office?" Agent Lattimer requested, sounding urgent.

* * *

"Here you go." Ron opened the door to the office. The desk was cluttered with paper, folders, in/out boxes and some paperweights. A coat hanger stood next to the door, with nothing on it. Pictures hung on the walls and a file cabinet.

Both agents followed right behind Ron, looking around the room. For some reason, Ron knew they were looking for something specific but not as to the first clue as to what it was.

"Is there anything else you need to know?" Ron asked the agents.

"We'll let you know if we need anything." Lattimer responded as he placed purple gloves on his hands. "You can go back to work."

Ron left the office, leaving the two agents to search the office, for who-knows-what that could be causing the problems with the managers.

"You have any idea as to what we're looking for, Myka?"

Myka stopped her search and turned to her partner. "You know, Pete. We just got here. Can you wait a little bit longer before you ask that question?"

"Well, since Artie doesn't know what we're looking for," Pete lifted a paper weight to examine it. "I figure it couldn't hurt to ask you."

Myka knew Pete didn't pay much attention to the debriefing with his question. "And what makes you think I even have the slightest clue as to what we're looking for if Artie doesn't know what artifact is causing these problems?"

Myka put on her own purple latex gloves and began to examine several objects in the office. Not a moment later, a buzzing came from Pete's pocket. He stopped his search and pulled out a gray metallic object from his coat pocket. He flipped open the Farnsworth and pressed the button to activate the screen.

One the black and white screen was the face of a man with short and curly hair wearing glasses and old-fashion clothes.

"Find anything?" The bearded man inquired.

"Nothing yet, Artie." Pete replied. Myka was currently standing next to Pete, so she could be in on the conversation. "Everything seems alright and no one knows what really happen, but..."

There was a trail of silence before Artie broke it. "But what?"

"There is this one person, Ron Stoppable." Pete finished. "There's something about him."

"Ron Stoppable?" Artie asked, like it seemed important and familiar.

"Wasn't he Kim Possible's sidekick?" Myka asked.

"Until she got married and Ron moved here." Pete surmised.

"Yeah but that's not what made him so familiar." Artie started to type away at his computer. "There is a very secret school the Regents have been keeping an eye on for years called Yamanuchi. They are said to be the guardians of a sword called the Lotus Blade, which we've been trying to get our hands on for years."

"Yamanuchi?" Myka was confused.

"Lotus Blade?" Pete's question echoed Myka.

"The Lotus Blade was owned by a warrior named Toshimiru." There was typing for several moments then Artie moved the Farnsworth to his computer to show a picture of a Japanese warrior holding a sword. "Legends say that Toshimiru carved the school with that one sword. The sword is said to be able to change its form, depending on the holder's desire."

"Interesting sword but what does this have to do with Stoppable." Pete asked Artie.

"There were four artifacts that allowed him to control the sword's power, among other things." Artie replied, putting the Farnsworth back in its place. "They have since been destroyed but I managed to get to them, and store them here. And despite being destroyed, Stoppable still retains the power he got. The sword, on the other hand, mysteriously disappeared a few years ago. I don't know where it is now."

"What kind of power did Stoppable get?" Pete asked, both interested, yet worried.

"I haven't been able to figure that out." Artie admitted, although his thought process seemed to be in overdrive.

"But what about the problem here?" Myka pointed out. "We haven't found the artifact."

"That's what I called for." Artie explained. "I found more information. A man names Josiah Steed lived in the late 17th century was paralyzed from the waist down due to an injury and was supposed to be confined to his bed. Everything he owned was sold after he died and dispersed but there was an item that he kept. Suppose to be his greatest possession and never let go it off."

"Then that vibe I got from Stoppable must mean something else." Pete said out loud.

"And can you be more specific about it?" Artie questioned. "It is bad?"

Pete shook his head. "Not exactly but it's hard to tell."

"Just hurry and find what you can and get back to me when you have something." Artie told them. "Claudia can keep searching for what is causing this problem..."

"What?" A feminine voice sounded with annoyance behind Artie.

"...I have some more digging to do on Stoppable." A moaning sound of annoyance came from the other side, followed by begging and pleading but nothing was confirmed after Artie disconnected the link.

"And that helps us how?" Pete put the Farnsworth back into his pocket.

The lights flicked for several moments, but remain on. The sound of rain hitting the roof hard came followed closely with the sound of lightning, rumbling in the distance.

"That is not good." Pete didn't sound too thrilled.

Myka knew what problem the lightning would be as well. An artifact's power would be amplified by tenfold thanks to the electrical storm. They knew things would go from bad to worse, very quickly.

* * *

Ron continued to restock the shelf with his friend and coworker. He didn't have many answers to give his friend on what the Secret Service had to say to him or what they were looking for. What was going on was as much of a mystery to him, as it was to everyone else.

Jacob was concerned with the problems going on with the managers. Ron could sense his friend's concern, thanks to his Mystical Monkey Power but not even his abilities helped him to learn what was causing the problems.

Problems just kept getting worse, and more people were losing their jobs with less customers coming. Those that remained were concerned with losing their job as they had young children. Some stayed for their family, while others left out of fear for their lives. The employees' situations with their lives were the only reason the store was kept open.

When the problems first started, Ron was asked by those that knew him as a member of Team Possible to figure it out. Kim would've come but since she was a part of GJ, it wasn't considered to be a dangerous enough threat to the community to send any GJ agent. Ron had already proven to be almost as good as Kim, if not, possibly better, in some ways.

"Have you made any progress, yet?" Jacob inquired when he finished stacking the shelf with bags of animal feed.

Ron shook his head, and replied, "I'm not sure what exactly is going on. I haven't exactly found anything."

Ron didn't consider that to be a bold face lie. Whenever a manager became paralyzed, Ron sensed something strong in the store and went to investigate but lost the trail. Whatever it was became activate but dissipated very quickly. He was never in the area when anything went down but he knew the general direction of where to go. Ron almost never went home but barely made any progress.

"Something better be found soon." Jacob started to complain. "People are too scared to apply to work here and I'm not sure I can do all this work."

"I'm not surprised." Ron replied, leading the way to their next destination. "I would think people would take the chance with how high people are being offered just to work here."

"If their lives wouldn't be at stake." Jacob added. It was rare if someone actually applied for employment, which their application was accepted almost right away.

Jacob pushed the cart fill with various boxes to be restocked. Very few areas were in need of being restocked and the old needed to be tossed since they were way pass their expiration date. They wouldn't mind some being behind but a new law was passed that they had to throw away anything more than two weeks old.

On top of that, they also had to check every single area of the store to make sure everything was organized and in their proper place. With very little people still shopping at the store, there wasn't much for the employees to do, but the problems forced a new rule; two employees had to be working together at all times.

Jacob pushed the cart into the Camping aisle, and stopped nearly halfway in. The area wasn't in bad shape. That is, for a costumer. For an employee, it was nightmare. Barely anything was in its proper place. Whether it was thrown around or placed on the shelf away from where it was supposed to be.

"How did this happen?" Ron slumped to his knees. "It wasn't like this yesterday?"

"And barely anyone came in this area." Jacob added his whine to Ron's.

Slowly, Ron got to his feet and went right to work. "Come on; let's just get this over with."

* * *

Keys on the steam-punk style computer keyboard were continuously being pressed as a curly haired man wearing glasses continued his search on Ron Stoppable, but his computer wasn't the only source of information. He had the youngest agent, a young red head woman, Claudia Donovan, go to the book store and library to gather as much books as she could carry and bring it back. A task which she hated since whenever she didn't find enough, Arthur Nielson would send her back out to get more.

And if that wasn't enough, Claudia was also stuck searching for the information about the problems at Oregon, making no headway. She couldn't use Artie's computer since he wouldn't let her touch it unless she stopped touching the artifacts within the Warehouse and causing problems. A very bad habit Claudia had.

The most recent situation involved Volta's Lab Coat, and the Warehouse was nearly pulled down on her and Artie. They would've been crushed if Artie didn't know everything about the artifacts currently stored in the Warehouse.

"How can it be so difficult to track one person down?" Claudia wondered out loud. "Why couldn't the less known people be more known?"

After hours of searching, Artie stopped his searches and took over for Claudia. Never had that man see the red-head more grateful... until he told her to go out and start on inventory.

"What item did you possess is causing these problems." Artie said to himself, almost like he was talking to Josiah Steed as he searched through everything he had on the man. Josiah wasn't well known so finding the information had proven more difficult than usual. "Would it kill you to leave a note?"

Artie's searches finally had the results he was looking for. Reaching over, Artie flipped open the Farnsworth to call Pete and Myka.

* * *

Pete and Myka's search of the offices didn't uncover anything. Pete continued to the Sale's Floor while Myka checked the video recordings. Of all the artifacts they collected in their short time, this seemed the most elusive artifact Pete felt he knew of.

Pete heard the Farnsworth buzzing. "About time."

Pete retrieved the Farnsworth from his pocket and flipped it open. "Sorry, we haven't found anything..."

"Well, I found something that could help." Artie adjusted the screen of the Farnsworth to show his computer. "It turns out that Josiah wasn't a man who worked in the field like his family. Growing up, he chose to read and study instead of working in the fields. Some other kids decided to have fun at his expense after school and threw everything he had on the ground. One even threw his favorite book on the roof of the school."

"So he climbs up to get it, only to fall, hitting some branches and the rocks below..." Pete started.

"Not to mention some boards that were sticking out," Artie finished. "Cut him bad. He became paralyzed, and angry at his condition for the rest of his life."

"Then it must be a book." Pete declared. "That helps us a lot, but it could still be anywhere in the store."

"Just check the book area," Artie suggested. "Or the antiques? How hard could it be?"

"This is a Smarty Mart." Pete replied. "But most of all, it is a store. People do tend to pull things off the shelf and drop them off elsewhere. Things are rarely where they're supposed to be."

Artie absorbed that for several moments. "I stand corrected." He said at last.

"Okay, so it must be a book and made three hundred years ago." Pete said. "So that means we just need to find a really old looking book."

Lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a loud _boom_. It was loud enough that even Artie heard it.

"Is that what I think it is?" Artie sounded worried.

"Yes, it's lightning." Pete unhappily replied. "And I never thought I could search faster in my entire life."

"And you didn't tell me that a storm was coming?" Artie's voice rising with each word he said.

Pete was taken aback. "It started after you hung up."

Artie shook his head and mumbled under his breath, then directed his attention back to Pete. "Just find it, tag it and bag it."

The screen went blank once again. It didn't take Pete long to find Myka, who was looking over the video recording in the security office.

"Find anything?" Pete asked his partner.

Myka looked up from the various screens connected to the security camera's spread throughout the store. "Whatever is happening, its not be caught on camera."

"Yeah, well," Pete gestured for Myka to the other side of the room, away from the few onlookers within the room. She followed him, suspecting that Pete found something. "Artie found something. Josiah became paralyzed in the attempt of retrieving his favorite book, and was very angry about it for the rest of his life."

"You're sure it's a book?" Myka seemed doubtful. "It could be anything."

"It's the best lead we have." Pete insisted. "So we best..."

Pete didn't finish but seem distracted, a worried expression on his face. The same worried expression Myka knew when Pete had a vibe.

"Something is wrong." She said.

Pete nodded, uneasily. "Seriously, we have got to find Stoppable." He told her grimly

* * *

Jacob and Ron finished reorganizing the aisle, which was harder then it appeared. The tents, cooking stoves, firewood, everything wasn't where they're supposed to be, among a lot of various small items that people decided not to buy were left behind.

"Can you believe this?" Jacob pulled out an silver pocket watch with a silver chain attached to the pocket watch. The light flickered, which was followed by the sound of lightning. The lightning sounded with a loud _crack_ and _boom_. "Why do people hav.."

Ron's senses went through the roof at that exact second. This time, it felt that whatever was causing these problems was right behind him. Right in Jacob's...

Ron turned around quickly, his mouth opened to shout out for his friend to drop the pocket watch but he was too late. An electric discharge shot out from the pocket watch and in all directions. Jacob was hit with enough force, sending him flying back into the shelf behind him.

"JACOB!" Ron screamed as he rushed to his friend's side on the other side of the shelf.

The shelf remained stable but with a hole in it, with falling on the other side. When Ron circled around the shelf, he stopped at the sight of his friend. A smoldering spot on Jacob's shirt, right where he was hit by the electric discharge.

The pocket watch continued to shoot out electric discharges everywhere. Anything that was struck was fried. Some items caught on fire. Any customers in the vicinity ran as far as they could, away from the sudden bursts of electricity, screaming as they fled.

Ron pulled his friend and laid him on the ground, checking for a pulse. Nothing. Ron didn't feel anything. His friend was dead, and if he didn't do something soon, many more people would be as well. The aisles and shelves were getting blasted and shredded by the discharges, wearing them away.

"Stoppable!"

Ron looked down the aisles to see Agents Lattimer and Bering running in his direction. They barely made it to the end before Lattimer stopped, then grabbed his partner by the shoulder and pulled her to the ground, seconds before a discharge struck in the same direction where their heads had been only moments ago.

The discharges forced Lattimer and Bering a little further back. Ron wasn't sure what exactly was going on. He wasn't sure if it was a new weapon by a villain, or something far worse. But he knew he had to stop it.

Ron's eyes went back over to Lattimer and Bering. Their attempts to get over to the canister he dropped failed, whenever a discharge nearly struck them, they had to pull back to avoid being hit. One item caught Ron's eyes. The silver canister Lattimer was carrying, the canister he dropped pulled Bering to the ground.

Ron wasn't sure what was inside but he suspected that it had to be important to stop the problems going on at the store. Without so much as a thought, Ron jumped out and rolled into the adjoining aisle, grabbing the canister, making his stop into the Kitchen aisle.

Twisting the canister's lid open, Ron found some purple goo inside, filling the canister more than halfway. "What in the world is this stuff?"

Ron looked back to the aisle where the pocket watch was. Everything was shredded and the shelves were destroyed, with more shelves being blasted. Even the roof had caved in on the watch but that didn't stop the destruction that continued to spread.

With little choice and every ounce of MMP Ron could muster together, he leaped out into the direction of the pocket watch, dodging the electric discharges as best as he could. His clothes were being nicked here and there, leaving his clothes with many small holes.

The discharges continued to get worse as the weather worsened. Something seemed odd about the storm, Ron could sense it. Like some supernatural force controlling the storm for its own sinister purposes.

It took every ounce of his MMP to keep from getting hit, dodging the discharges until he finally got back to the pocket watch, and drowned it with the purple goo. A burst of energy erupted from the pocket watch with such force; Ron was thrown backwards into air and landed on his back. He groaned in pain as he rolled onto his stomach, and pushed off the ground and staggered to his feet. Ron had to lean on a shelf for support until he regained his composure.

Looking over to the source of people running, Ron saw Agents Lattimer and Bering, concerned expressions on their faces until they came to a stop and surveyed the scene. The canister with the goo lying on its side with the purple goo thrown on the floor, the watch covered in it.

"How did you know what to do?" Bering asked Ron.

"I didn't," Ron shrugged. "But I saw it and figured..." he trailed off as he saw someone far down the rows of shelves. He couldn't make out the features of the person but he knew that something wasn't right about this person. The only thing about this person that Ron saw was the black trench coat and sunglasses.

Ron tried to focus but everything seemed to fall out of focus as the events that just occurred took its toll on Ron. He staggered back, but was caught and lowered to the ground. Ron looked up at the agents. Bering's voice was slurred, as Lattimer held his cell phone in his hand and called for an ambulance.

Words became slurred, and the lights dimmed, with each second as Ron slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

I figured that was as good a place to end the chapter.

Please review with any comments, concerns, suggestions and/or constructive criticisms you may have. No flames and keep it clean.


	2. Chapter 2

Let me say Thank-you to those who left a review for the previous chapter: ShadowWolfDagger, vash3055, Red Baron A.K.A. Crowley, foxfire222, OrionTheHunter, wolfey141, whitem, CajunBear73, mystery-3675, RngrThorne, TheRedKommie, Bobboky and Shrike176 for their fantastic reviews, and for those that pointed out mistakes I missed so I could correct them.

I own nothing but the idea. Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Recruitment**

"Doctor." A female voice sounded, almost blurred. "He's waking."

Ron stirred, slowly opening his eyes but all he saw was a blur. A blur of shapes. Closing his eyes, Ron groaned and once again opened his eyes. Things were still a blur but he could make things out now a little better.

"Wha… what happened?" Ron moaned, trying to get a grasp of his surroundings and of the last thing he remembered.

Looking to his right was the window, the sun already setting. On his left, Ron was able to identify an older man in the white coat with a stethoscope around his neck.

"We feared you wouldn't wake up, Mr. Stoppable." The doctor said in an even tone, but with a tad bit of relief in his voice. "You had us worried there."

"How..." Ron tried to ask.

The doctor knew the question since he dealt with similar situations before. "You were out for more then a week. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with you. What's the last thing you remember?"

Trying hard to remember what had just happen; Ron had flashes until it all came back to him. The problem for him was telling them what happened. He wasn't sure if they would believe him, so he went with the only thing he could.

Shaking his head, Ron replied. "I'm not... sure of what actually happened."

It was actually a half-truth. He knew what had happened but not the whole picture. He encountered many strange things in the course of the missions with his former girlfriend Kim, but that seemed completely different then anything he ever saw.

Ron looked over to the table to his side. Some 'Get Well' balloons were on the table, along with some cards and various other 'Get Well' items.

The Doctor noticed Ron's surprise. "You've had a lot people come to see how you were doing. Must have been quite the friend."

Ron reached over and picked up the only card he saw. When he opened the card, he knew it wasn't from someone he worked with.

"_Sorry about your friend, but thanks for your help. We couldn't have completed our mission without you."_

It was from the two Secret Service Agents, Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering.

The memories of the last few minutes before he blacked out more then a week ago came back. He now had no friends he could speak to. And with what happened, he was sure that the chances that he would be unemployed would be high.

A nurse entered and went straight to the Doctor. "Doctor Wilson, you're needed in room 174."

"Thanks." Doctor Wilson turned back to Ron. "We're going to need to keep you overnight for observations."

Ron nodded and watched as both Doctor and Nurse departed. Now alone in the room, Ron tried to concentrate on his situation. No job, no friends and with very little money, he might have to move back to Middleton. That wasn't what he had in mind. He couldn't go back. Kim was still living there, despite her career in Global Justice and traveling all over the world to keep it safe.

The more he though about his future, or lack-there-of, the more he believed that moving back to Middleton was his only choice. The more he believed that, the more agitated he became.

"Maybe I should think about this tomorrow." Ron mumbled to himself as he found a comfortable position on his bed.

It didn't take long but soon Ron drifted of into a restless sleep.

* * *

Even in his sleep, comfort wouldn't come. His mind was causing him distress, even in his sleep. Like he was having nightmares.

"No..." Ron mumbled. "Don't..."

_Ron was suffering more in his sleep, then when he was awake. All he could dream about was the Lotus Blade, a man in a black trenchcoat and a cave, hidden in a mountain of an unknown location._

_The mountains, the man and even the scene of Yamanuchi changed to that of an open field as far as the eye can see. A cool breeze blew through the field, Ron found himself standing in. He wasn't sure where he was but something felt off._

_"What is going on?" Ron muttered._

_"I have summoned you, Stoppable-san."_

_Ron jumped in surprise and turned to see Sensei stand several feet away from him. Something seemed odd. Sensei's features were one of concern._

"_What's wrong?" Ron asked._

"_Why would anything need to be wrong for me to come and speak with you?" Sensei replied._

"_So... there is nothing wrong?" Ron asked._

"_I have never said that." Sensei replied. There was several tense moments before Sensei looked away, and gave the worse news he had. _"_The Lotus Blade has been stolen. It was replaced with a fake."_

"_A fake?" Ron asked in disbelief. "So you knew right away?"_

"_Unfortunately, this fake had Mystical Monkey Power radiating from it." Sensei informed the Mystical Monkey Master. "Enough that not even I knew until it was too late."_

_That didn't make any sense to Ron. Whoever could have done this must have had enough knowledge of the MMP to know how to trick even Sensei. Monkey Fist came to mind but he was still frozen in a block of stone._

"_Whoever stole the Lotus Blade must know its full secrets." Sensei counseled Ron._

"_Full secrets?" Ron repeated. "Like what?"_

_Sensei lowered his head. "Not even I know that. But it must be retrieved." _

"_It won't be too much trouble." Ron boosted._

"_It's not as easy as it seems, Stoppable-san." Sensei replied. "Whoever stole it has concealed its power. And the thief left nothing that we could use to follow."_

"_Which means I have to find it the hard way?" Ron groaned._

"_Do not despair." Sensei advised. "Be like the Tortoise, and not the Hare, or you will fall short in your quest, instead of your adversary."_

_Ron was dumbfounded. "Of all the life lessons and wisdom you have, you use a child's story to inspire me?"_

"_Who says it started as a children's story?" Sensei casually replied._

* * *

By morning, Ron was finally released from the hospital and the first thing he did was to try and summon the Lotus Blade but with no success. He kept trying for nearly thirty minutes but nothing happened.

Sensei was right when the power was being blocked. The search for the Lotus Blade would need a lot of money, so he went to check out the Smarty Mart, only to find the blocked off by the Police. They weren't allowing anyone to enter and from the look of things, the store was being closed down. A lot of people were being put out of work for a long time.

For the rest of the day, Ron did the best he could do to find another job and earn money until he got his Naco Royalty. Filling out job applications to just about anywhere. He didn't have a lot of money to stay long or he would have to move back home. Then his search for who stole the Lotus Blade might end before it started.

And that was something he felt he couldn't do. He couldn't explain the feeling why he couldn't go back but he suspected that it had to do with the Lotus Blade. He had no leads but he knew he had to start somewhere. But as to where he would have to start, he had no idea.

By evening, Ron returned back to his apartment. He didn't have any roommates, so he didn't have to worry about waking anyone, other then tenants of the other apartments. When he entered his home he was met by Rufus, his only real friend in the world.

Rufus was hyperventilating since Ron hasn't been home for more then a week. It was only through the TV that any news of Ron came to him.

"Sorry about the scare Rufus." Ron said gently. "It's been tough these past few weeks."

Calmed down, Rufus sought comfort in Ron's pants pocket. Ron smiled for the first time in a while. He felt fortunate to have someone that would want him around. To have a real friend in these troubled times.

Taking a few steps into the living area, Ron stopped. Something didn't feel right. He wasn't sure what, but he knew something was inside the apartment with them. In a few seconds, it became clear that they had company.

Ron took a few more steps to the kitchen but it was empty. The bedroom was empty as well. Every place he checked was empty. Ron decided to chalk it up to paranoia but when he turned to the room adjoining the living area, he shrieked in surprise.

Standing in the adjoining room, was a woman of African decent. She wore glasses, with her hair worn up so as not to distract her, while her wardrobe was casual, yet formal.

"Mr. Stoppable." She said, her tone showed no emotion but was in an even and steady tone.

For that one moment, he wished that there _was_ another 'Mr. Stoppable' in the room and standing right behind him. This woman appeared out of nowhere. As far as he was aware, no Yamanuchi student was THAT good.

"My name's Frederic." She simply introduced herself, with the same tone of voice.

"First or last name?" Ron asked, unsure he wanted the answer.

"Mrs. Frederic." She took several steps forward in a calm non-threatening manner.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked his mysterious visitor.

"I'm with the Government." Mrs. Frederic simply answered. "I'm here on a matter of national security."

Ron was startled when some papers were handed to him from another man that was standing next to him, one who appeared out of nowhere like Mrs. Frederic. The Asian man that handed him the papers seemed more like a bodyguard, and a professional one at that.

Ron looked back and forth between the bodyguard and Mrs. Frederic, wondering what was going on.

"What this for?" Ron asked.

Mrs. Frederic seemed like she smirked, as she continued to speak with her same tone of voice, but Ron couldn't tell if it was a smirk. "An invitation to endless wonder."

"Okay, could you sound a little creepier?" Which Ron didn't think it was possible for her.

"Read it." Mrs. Frederic instructed, and it sounded a little creepier then before.

Ron seemed hesitant but that glare was creeping him out. He decided it was best to do as she said since she terrified him more then Barkin.

As Ron started to read it over, Mrs. Frederic continued. "As of right now, you are being recruited for a top secret job. You're part of my bailiwick now."

Ron's head jerked up. "What does that mean?"

"That means you're working for me now." Mrs. Frederic calmly answered.

"For you?" Ron couldn't seem to understand why the Government wanted him and not Kim. She was always better at things that pertain to the Government. "Why would you even want me?"

"Reasons I can't explain at this time but one of my Agents will explain when you arrive in South Dakota. Be there at those coordinates, at noon tomorrow." Mrs. Frederic said, indicating to the paper in Ron's hand. "You will mention our meeting and your pending work to no one. Is that understood?"

Ron was about to object but the thought about going to some place in South Dakota instead of having to move back to Middleton seemed more appealing the more he though about it. That and the prospect of having a new job already to fund his search also appealed to him. Instead he kept his mouth shut and nodded in agreement.

"Pack light, Mr. Stoppable." Mrs. Frederic suggested, and then walked to the door with her bodyguard right behind her. "We'll ship what you need and store the rest."

The bodyguard closed the door behind them.

* * *

Ron didn't get any sleep that night. By his estimation, if he wanted to be at the location in South Dakota, he had to drive all night. That is, if he wanted to be only several minutes late. He couldn't afford a ticket, but he still had the old GPS system from Wade to help him find this place.

It was close to noon before he was very close to his destination. The air was hot and dry and his A/C wasn't working properly. The only thing that could make it worse was to make Mrs. Frederic angry by being extremely late.

Ron didn't see any other cars on the road and he didn't see any sign of any other life for the last few hours.

'_Make a right turn.'_ The voice on the GPS said.

Ron didn't see a right turn so he kept driving down the road but slowed down a little bit to find the turn.

'_You have missed your turn.'_ The voice said.

Ron hit the breaks and looked back. He only saw a left turn, and the only right turn would've sent him into the fence. Ron put his 'rust bucket', as he put it, in reverse and kept going until the GPS sounded, _'Make a right turn.'_

Stopping his car, Ron looked around then to the fence. Now he started to understand, if only a little. The fence gate could be opened and it looked like someone has been coming and going, recently.

Ron drove up to the gate, and after getting out and opening it, he drove on in. After getting out again, he closed the gate behind him. The road disappeared beneath the weeds and tall grass that had grown, as if to cover the actual road and keep people from finding whatever the road would lead to.

Looking at his watch, unless he hurried and nothing went wrong, Ron knew he wasn't going to be on time but secretly hoped it wouldn't matter.

Ron continued to drive until he came to the end of the clearing, and found the actual road. He over looked the badlands of South Dakota. It looked more like a desert but Ron could see something in the distance.

"That must be it." Ron said as he drove through the badlands.

He didn't see any cars, so he drove faster to meet his deadline. Thoughts raced through his mind of what he would find or what he would do. But if working for these people would help him fund his search for the Lotus Blade, he would consider it to be well worth it.

Following the road, the object in the distance was soon recognized as a large steel structure that seemed more outdated then his car, but there weren't even rust spots on the building.

"This must be the place." Ron got out of his car, standing in the heat of the day. He felt something about this place. Not only did the structure sent off a kind of energy that made it seem more then an average building but he felt a power of some kind. The same kind of power that pocket watch had but this was much more powerful. Something was inside but he wasn't entirely sure what.

No one was around and he didn't really see much of an entrance until he saw the framework of the door. Ron didn't attempt to open the door since he didn't know how.

"Hello?" Ron called out. "Ron Stoppable here."

All he heard was the sound of the wind and bird squawking in the far distance. Unsure of how long he was suppose to wait, Ron decided to wait in his car but when he got into his car, he saw the door open.

Curious, Ron got out of the car and approached the door, then quickly looked over his shoulder. He didn't have a weapon of any kind but his MMP so he had to be careful in case of...

"You must be Mr. Stoppable."

Ron nearly jumped out of his skin and turned back to the door and come face to face with a man, in the advance stages of middle age, glasses, curry brown hair with a small beard and eyebrows the size of large caterpillars. His wardrobe was earth-tones style, which he suspected the man dressed that way for a long time.

"Are you always this jumpy?" He asked.

"N-no." Ron replied, calming his nerves. "You just startled me, and I didn't get any sleep. Who are you?"

"Names Arthur Nielson but you can call me Artie." He introduced himself and then gestured for Ron to follow. "Now, come on."

"First, what am I doing here?" Ron demanded.

"I'll explain everything inside. Come on." Artie gestured once again. "I have cookies."

The mention of cookies grabbed Ron's attention and he followed Artie. Once inside, the air felt cool and not as dry in the white corridor.

"Just don't touch the bombs." Artie warned, which caused Ron to stop his attempt to see what the items were inside the clear tubes.

At the end of the white corridor, Artie removed his glasses and pressed his face to the eye scanner. Several electronics beeps, and the door opened.

"We'll get it set up to accept you." Artie lead Ron into the main office.

A desk sat in the center of the room with an old looking steampunk style computer. Shelves were filled with various items that Ron believed were from different periods of time. Other shelves were filled with books and even a cabinet that were filled with various cards, like the ones have in libraries.

There was a door on the far side of the room with a window but he couldn't see out them since metal blinds kept him from seeing what was beyond.

"So..." Ron said, dragging the word out. "What am I doing here?"

"You are joining the team as a fellow gather and protector of certain artifacts." Artie simply answered. "You have skills, almost being unstoppable. And there are times when you make mistakes that have a habit of working out for the better."

"See that is where you're mistaken." Ron protested. "If you need any help, you should've gotten Kim to help you do any… protecting."

"No, no, no." Artie objected. "We can't recruit her. She's with Global Justice."

Ron was perplexed with Artie's statement. "What's wrong with Global Justice?"

"It's complicated." Artie replied. "But suffice it to say, we have a seriously strained relationship with them that we don't recruit... anyone from there."

"But you don't do anything wrong?" Ron slowly asked.

"Like I said, it's complicated." Artie retorted irritably and went over to his desk and picked up a plate full of cookies, and held it out to Ron. "Want one?"

Ron took one, but one sniff, and Rufus ran up and snagged one. Artie saw the Naked Mole Rat and just glared at it. Never had Rufus know of anyone that could actually scare him so he retreated to the safety of Ron's pocket.

"You can't take him on missions like you use to do." Artie warned. "Rules and regulations. You need to look professional, but there might be some exceptions."

"What kind of exceptions?" Ron asked.

"Depends of what kind of missions we send you on." Artie lead Ron to the door and opened it. "Now, if you'll come with me. Let me show you something."

When Ron walked of Artie's office and out onto the platform, he was in awe of the sight. As far as he could see, there crates and artifacts as far as the eye can see. There didn't seem to be an end to the rows of artifacts.

"Welcome, Ron," Artie grinned. "to Warehouse 13."

Ron then understood the power he felt that was within the Warehouse. "All these artifacts have a power of some kind."

"Is that a speculation from helping out Pete and Myka?" Artie asked which the two names caught Ron's attention. "Or could it have been a power you possess?"

Ron wasn't prepared for the last statement but tried to brush it off. "I-I don't even… I'm not sure... no person has..."

Artie just grinned as Ron's lack of preparedness. "I believed you called it Mystical Monkey Power? Used it to save Earth from that invasion a few years back?"

Ron's jaw dropped. If they knew about his power, then they could also know about Yamanuchi, the Lotus Blade and.…

Ron stepped toward Artie. "How could you even know about that?"

"When we're looking for artifacts," Artie said. "We stumbled upon Yamanuchi."

"And the Lotus Blade?" Ron tried to gather what information he could.

"We never got it since it was well guarded and our agents are not that well trained," Artie answered. "So we kept on eye on the place in case someone ever stole it. Only they slipped through."

"So you don't have it?" Ron slowly asked. "Why would you want it?"

"Listen carefully." Artie didn't sound as calm as he did before. "Any artifact in the world is too dangerous to be in the wrong hands. That's why when an artifact acts up, the agents here are sent to snag it, bag it and tag it."

Artie's sudden change of demeanor startled Ron and he was forced to take several steps back.

"If someone can sneak into a top secret ninja school and steal that sword without letting anyone know about the theft until it was too late," Artie's voice managed to remain even "Then who knows what else this person could do or what they have."

Ron was unable to find any words after Artie's statement. He was also seeing another reason why they brought him in. From what he suspected, the thief must be a serious threat but he knew Artie avoided answering his question. Artie had to know something but Ron didn't want to dig any further until he got more information.

Ron looked over to the extremely large collection of artifacts in the Warehouse. Just by being in the Warehouse, he knew a lot of the artifacts were dangerous as all but some artifacts gave him an understanding of what these people did.

"What's going to happen when the Lotus Blade is found?" Ron asked his back to Artie.

"The Regents, those control the Warehouse," Artie started. "are only concerned with finding this thief since he killed a Regent. Only his bodyguard managed to survive to report what happened."

"I understand why you want me now." Ron turned back to face Artie.

"We find the thief, you get the Lotus Blade." Artie extended his hand. "Deal?"

Ron did not hesitate for even a moment. He accepted. Sensei said there were secrets about the Lotus Blade that not even he knew. So finding it was a top priority.

"Good." Artie said, leading Ron back to the entrance. "Hopefully we can work well together."

"At least until we find the Lotus Blade." Ron said, with a smirk.

"Actually when we recruit people," Artie said with a straight face. "They're with us until they're dead, insane or some... other reason they can't work here."

Ron laughed. "At least you've got a sense humor."

Artie didn't even crack a smile as he went back to his office. "I haven't had a decent sense of humor since 1972."

Ron stopped and it took him a few moments to realize the situation he was in. The downside is that this is what he may be doing for the rest of his life with little chances for a personal life. The upside was he should have resources as his disposable to find the sword.

* * *

If anyone figures out anything, then more power to you. I shall now leave it at that.

Please review with any comments, concerns, suggestions and/or constructive criticisms you may have. No flames and keep it clean.


	3. Chapter 3

I would like to thank Data Seeker, chaosknight, Hella530, Shrike176, Bobboky, Shorty McGee, ShadowWolfDagger, Pyro-Neko-Isis, newboy, CajunBear73, OrionTheHunter, readerjunkie, Red Baron and mystery-3675 for their fantiastic reviews.

I'm sorry it has taken a while to update this story but I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Reunions**

Ron's life had officially been turned upside down. Before coming to the Warehouse, he thought no one else would have a life like him, with the missions and saving the world. But now, those missions seemed insignificant to what he was going to be doing now.

Saving the world from artifacts with supernatural powers and the people that would use them.

Artie tried to give Ron the full tour of the Warehouse and as much information as he possibly could before the day was out but not only was Ron falling asleep but something else had came up, which Ron wasn't sure what. He was given a Manuel with the information of the Warehouse, the Neutralizer, the Artifacts and much more to read and was required to memorize the Manuel.

Not an easy task for Ron.

Artie had directed him to the Bed & Breakfast owned by a woman named Leena, where a room was waiting for him. And a bed with his name on it, as far as he was concerned.

Ron had to rest up since Pete and Myka were due back the next day while Artie's tech help, Claudia Donovan, would be back sooner and from what Ron learned, they were having trouble with their current mission and the artifact they risked their lives to get was taken from them.

Ron had to be at the B&B before anyone returned so he left as soon as he could and drove back to the main road until he came back to the town known as Univille.

Ron drove through the town, which seemed in disrepair, looking for the Bed & Breakfast. It was well into the afternoon before he came to a place with a sign that said '_Leena's Bed and Breakfast'_.

Parking his car, Ron got out and gathered his bags. He didn't get a few feet away before he heard the sound of metal dropping on the ground. He spun around, taking in the view of the car. The door on the driver's side was now on the ground.

Dropping his bags on the ground, Ron opened up to take a look at the engine. He didn't know at lot about cars but he knew that the engine was dead and most of everything else was either dead, shot or snapped.

"Oh, man," Ron kicked the car. "This tanks."

The car strained and nearly buckled from the kick. Ron backed away, grabbing his bags on the way inside the B&B.

Ron entered the building, and waiting for him was a woman of African decent with black hair and wearing black pant, a modest pinkish blouse and a black sweater-jacket.

"You must be Ron Stoppable." She smiled kindly. "I'm Leena."

Ron nodded, slowly. Something about this person felt off and he couldn't be sure what it was. Almost like a kind of power radiating from her but something else as well.

"Follow me." Leena turned and lead the way into the B&B. Ron followed behind her, all the while, something nagging at him that something wasn't right with Leena. Ron carried his bags into the B&B and followed Leena straight up the stairs, as she spoke. "Meals are served at 9:00, 12:00 and 5:30."

"_Sounds like Mr. B's routine."_ Ron kept the thought to himself.

"There is no TV in the room, or phone," Leena turned around and faced Ron when they reached the top floor. "But there is a phone downstairs. You may pick any room that is not occupied."

"Thanks." Ron said, slowly.

"Your welcome." Leena smiled, then walked to the stairs but stopped and turned around. "I suggest you be up early. There is a situation and you should be there."

"Great." Ron mumbled as he took his bags into his room and dropped them on the floor. Deciding to unpack the next day, he dropped on his bed and pulled the blankets over his head, allowing sleep to take him.

_

* * *

The cave in the mountain was deeper then he expected but he kept running as fast as he could as time was running out rapidly._

_Ron tried to ignore the pain in his legs and side but the deeper he went, the harder it got to keep up his strength. So many distractions to keep him away from the real prize but he was determine not to fail again._

_Finally, Ron broke through into a large chamber, with stone murals carved into the walls. A platform in the center of the room surrounded by an underground lake, that seemed to give a little illumination to the cavern, while statutes stood around the platform, as if they were guarding the alter on the end of the platform, which held an object that was obscured by the darkness that engulfed the cavern._

_Walking toward the platform was the silhouette of a person, who Ron couldn't identify. The mysterious person was very close to the object, before turning around and taunted Ron._

"_You should have stayed with your friend." The man's voice was distorted, making it unidentifiable. "However, she has been most useful to my plans."_

_The man turned around and moved closer and reached for the object. Ron ran to stop the man and tripped, stumbling onto the ground._

* * *

Ron's eyes flew opened and he found himself on the floor of the B&B. Sitting up, Ron rubbed his sore cheek he got from the ruff landing on the floor.

Any other time, Ron would've dismissed it as any other dream but it felt more like he was there. Like a vision of things to come. Ron looked over at the clock, and it was past 9:30.

"Oh, great." Rufus watched as Ron rushed to get cleaned up and properly dressed before rushing out the room.

Ron ran downstairs and straight into a room that appeared to be a conference room of sorts. The room was currently occupied by four people Ron recognized immediately.

Upon entering the room, Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering were surprised to see Ron but Mrs. Frideric kept that same creepy stoic expression.

"Mr. Stoppable, so good of you to finally join us." She said, her voice showed no emotional tone, which only crept Ron out more. "Agent Lattimer and Bering, I'm sure you know Mr. Stoppable. He will be joining us. Be sure to help him, when the situation is more... appropriate."

Mrs. Frederic stood up from her chair and walked out of the room. Ron turned around to watch Mrs. Frederic leave but she was no where to be seen.

"That's creepy." Ron turned back to the agents, pointing in the direction Mrs. Frederic had been.

"You'll get use to it." Pete assured, then frowned as he added. "Maybe."

There was a tense moment until Ron broke the silence. "So... what's going on?"

"We just lost an artifact." Myka replied, some irritation in her voice.

"Yeah, Edgar Allen Poe's Pen and Notebook." Pete added.

"I assume there's more to it then just losing the artifact?" Ron questioned, noting the edge in their tone.

Pete nodded. "The guy that took it has been holding a grudge against Artie and the Warehouse."

"He broke the rules," Myka retorted. "And innocent people died because of it!"

"Who is he?" Ron insisted.

"His name is James MacPherson and a former Warehouse agent." Leena answered, stepping into the room. "And we know he's planning something but we don't know what."

"What do we do now?" Ron was getting worked up about something and he wasn't sure what. "How do we find him?"

"It's not easy to find him." Myka admitted, "But first, let's head back to the Warehouse. Artie might know something we don't."

"Could I get a ride?" Ron asked, following the agents outside of the Bed and Breakfast. "My car isn't in good working..."

Ron stopped when he stepped outside and noticed that his car wasn't there but in it's place was a brand new silver coated SUV. Ron stepped up to the car and picked up the white envelope pressed under one of the windshield wipers.

"What's wrong with your car?" Pete asked, then whistled as he took in the sight of the car. "And I would love to get myself something like this."

"Ah..." Ron didn't answer as he opened the envelop and keys fell out, along with a note from Mrs. Frederic.

"_Try not to let the car be destroyed. Our resources are not as unlimited as you might think."_

Ron quickly looked up and said, "Nothing is wrong."

Ron got into his new car and followed right behind Pete and Myka as they drove to the Warehouse.

* * *

The crates were all setup in his underground storage with more on the way, thanks to the aid of his partner, who was unaware of her actions and he was almost ready for the next stage of his plans. He was just waiting for the phone call to confirm that everything was in place but with Arthur Nielson on his trail, it wasn't easy to stay hidden.

James MacPherson had been planning something for a very long time and he was careful not to leave anything that would give away his plan and now he had to move on with his plans and set up a meeting to sell artifacts to the highest bidder.

As he neared the Warehouse where the meeting was to take place, his phone rang and his answered it

"How goes everything at the Warehouse?" There was several moments as he listened to everything, then he smiled. "That's good. I was afraid I would have to do without."

MacPherson hanged up, and his smile grew. His plan was moving along perfectly, there were still more things to do and he needed someone else within the bowels of the Warehouse to help him accomplish his goals.

"It's time an old friend got the fresh air she has been longing for."

* * *

Ron had arrived with Pete and Myka to the Warehouse but remained behind while Artie, Myka and Pete went off to Washington D.C. to visit a woman named Carol about MacPherson. Artie would've brought Ron with them but he didn't have the experience in the field that Pete and Myka did, so he had to stay behind.

Ron managed to meet another member of the team. A young red headed woman named Claudia Donovan and his first impression of her was like meeting a younger version of Kim... one that had actually learned to not be so uptight and to actually have fun.

Ron was waiting in Artie's office, listening to Claudia tell Mrs. Frederic, in great detail, about the two events that involved being magnetized to the ceiling and barely stopping the Warehouse from exploding, but it was also thanks to Pete and Myka for being there. The kind of scrutiny the red head was getting was almost as intimating as Mrs. Frederic just speaking.

When Mrs. Frederic finished with Claudia's 'debriefing', she was excused and she quickly departed, but Ron decided to remain in the Warehouse. They didn't hear anything from the team for hours and until then, they didn't have anything to do but Ron decided it was best to read the Manuel in the room above Artie's office.

The silence was broken when the Farnsworth buzzed. Mrs. Frederic answered it, and Artie's face was on the screen, obviously concerned.

"MacPherson claims to have the Phoenix." Artie informed her.

Mrs. Frederic appeared amused. "The Phoenix is in the Warehouse."

Artie's face came closer to the screen. "I know."

Even though it would be impossible for MacPherson to get into the Warehouse without his blood bursting through his veins, Mrs. Frederic thought it would be best to check to make sure.

"I'll get back to you." Mrs. Frederic disconnected the link and departed to the Warehouse ground floor.

She traveled through the bowels of the Warehouse, crisscrossing from one aisle to another to check on the Phoenix. Although she appeared calm, her nerves were on edge. If MacPherson had the Phoenix, then who knows how he managed to get it. She arrived at the section of the Warehouse where the Phoenix was kept and approached the shelf. The display screen glowed with a low light, with a metal Phoenix charm displayed. When Mrs. Frederic opened the small box, it was empty with the exception of a folded piece of paper.

"_I. O. U. one Phoenix!_

_xoxo James!"_

There was no emotion in her voice when she said, "Now I'm getting angry."

Mrs. Frederic returned back to the office. She needed to inform Artie but the computer sitting on Artie's desk prompted her to check something out first. She used the computer to check the security recordings to see how MacPherson could have stolen the Phoenix. It took several seconds for the video recording to come on.

The video display of the surveillance recording was of another entrance to the Warehouse. One not commonly used, if at all. Anyone that would use that entrance would try to avoid someone, or hide something. Like the perfect way to leave the Warehouse with stolen artifacts.

Mrs. Frederic continued to watch as a man left the Warehouse. The man was blurry and she couldn't identify him, until she enhanced the video... and was startled that it was none other then Arthur Nielson.

"How is MacPherson doing this?" Mrs. Frederic was shaken from the situation and the video she had just saw but decided to keep the information about the surveillance recording to herself until she learned more.

She flipped open the Farnsworth and called Artie, which was answered right away. Almost as if Artie had his Farnsworth in his hand, ready to receive her call.

"What's the situation?" Artie quickly asked.

"The Phoenix is gone." Mrs. Frederic simply answered, albeit a little shaken.

The news didn't come too lightly to Artie. "How could he have gotten the Phoenix?" Artie was distraught with the news, but he also had something else his superior needed to know. "What about the Goblet of Severan. If MacPherson managed to get the Phoenix, then he might have also gotten his hands on the Goblet as well."

With the Phoenix missing and the surveillance recording, she knew something was up and had to check on the Goblet of Severan.

"I'll look into it." Mrs. Frederic switched off the Farnsworth.

"What's going on?" Leena asked as she entered the office.

"The Phoenix is missing." Mrs. Frederic replied, then walked to the door. "Come with me." She turned back and saw Ron standing on the steps. "You too, Mr. Stoppable."

Leena complied, as well as Ron but mostly because something wasn't right with her. Not only did he need to learn his way around the Warehouse but there was still something about Leena he didn't trust. He wasn't there long but the recent situation screamed that something horrible was wrong that everyone over looked.

He was informed about Leena's abilities, being able to see people's aura and know what they're feeling by the color of the aura, but that wasn't it. There was something else and he didn't know what.

"I told him the Phoenix was gone." Mrs. Frederic said to Leena and Ron as they made their way to the Goblet's place in the Warehouse. "He seemed genuinely concerned and distraught, and then he told me about the Goblet of Severan."

They stopped and Leena gestured to the case holding the Goblet. "Well, here it is." Leena said. "Safe and sound."

"Open it, please." Mrs. Frederic instructed.

Leena pressed a button on the electronic display. A few beeps, followed by a click and the container was unlocked. When Leena opened the container, there wasn't a glass goblet but a plastic baby's bottle.

"That's not possible." Leena objected, completely confused and startled. Mrs. Frederic was equally concerned and shaken. "He can't possibly have access to Warehouse things unless..."

"These new video displays record access," Mrs. Frederic asked. "do they not?"

Leena picked up the display and accessed the recent activity. "That's my access of just a few moments ago. Let me toggle back to see the last person."

When Leena toggled back, everyone was completely surprised when the display showed the last person that accessed was Claudia.

"Why is Claudia taking artifacts to MacPherson?" Leena looked back to Mrs. Frederic.

"Who says she is?" Ron questioned. "Can't computers can be reprogrammed."

"These were designed by a Warehouse Agent to be almost impervious to tampering." Mrs. Frederic answered, then turned to lead them back to the office. "We need to talk with Ms. Donovan."

* * *

The talk didn't go over smoothly and Claudia could not believe it when she saw the video display and it had said she had used it when the artifact was stolen. When Mrs. Frederic seemed to imply that Claudia had been helping MacPherson, albeit as a sleeper agent to steal artifacts and hand them over to MacPherson, Claudia became hysterical.

It didn't help Claudia at all when Leena said she read her aura and that something was wrong with her. Claudia stormed out of the office to try and clear her head so she could try to figure out what was going on with her.

Leena stepped forward to go after Claudia but Mrs. Frederic stopped her. "For the time being, it's best she weren't in the Warehouse."

"What if she disappears?" Ron asked, concerned for the well-being of the young agent.

"She's being watched." Mrs. Frederic informed them.

Leena turned to face Mrs. Frederic, deeply concerned for her friend. "I've never seen her, this upset before."

"That's what made James such an excellent agent." Mrs. Frederic started as she turned away from the two. "He'd get inside your head, throw you off your game. Just when you thought you had the upper hand, he'd strike."

"And that's what would make him a greater threat then I've ever faced." Ron mumbled, and then spoke to Mrs. Frederic. "Is there anyway that Claudia might not be helping MacPherson? Like someone else making it look like Claudia did all this?"

Leena looked deeply concerned by the accusation, while Mrs. Frederic looked thoughtful for several moments. It was an excellent question.

"It might be possible." Mrs. Frederic answered. "But it would have to be someone that knew the system well enough to pull it off."

"Why don't we check around," Ron offered, then pointed to Leena. "See if we can find something that could help."

"Proceed with caution, Mr. Stoppable." Mrs. Frederic advised. "You can never be too careful, especially with MacPherson."

Ron and Leena used Artie's office to conduit their research on the artifacts that could be used to help MacPherson but Ron wasn't searching anything about who could manipulate computers but to control people.

* * *

When word came that MacPherson was finally captured and Artie, Pete and Myka would have him at the Warehouse in a few hours, Ron didn't find anything that would help determine what artifact could be used for one person to control another. There were many ways to create sleeper agents but they were all in the Warehouse and under their control.

Ron had to finally stop when the agents would arrive within the hour and he wanted to meet this MacPherson he heard so little about but apparently was a great threat to the Warehouse. He wanted to have a good look at him since MacPherson was the first name on his list of suspects that could have stolen the Lotus Blade.

Not only had he been on the loose for fifteen years but was believed to be dead. He also had the resources during that time to pull it off.

Unfortunately, he was the only one on that list. That is, unless Monkey Fist was somehow released from his stone prison, and that was highly unlikely. Finding suspects would not be easy since he knew of no one else that would know about the Lotus Blade or where Yamanuchi was.

When the door opened, Artie and Myka entered the office right behind Pete, who was leading a man in handcuffs, with graying hair and a necklace with crystals around his neck.

"Ron," Artie gestured to the man. "This is MacPherson."

MacPherson smiled a little bit. "Ronald Stoppable. I heard so much about you and your friend, Kim Possible."

Although Ron was annoyed with the mention of Kim's name, he hid it well enough but not enough for MacPherson.

"I guess that means that Possible didn't keep you around." MacPherson said with mock compassion. "I know what it's like to lose someone you love."

"What's happening to him?" Ron asked Artie, currently ignoring MacPherson's comment.

"We're putting him in the Bronze Sector." Artie simply answered.

"Okay..." Ron slowly said. "I have read to the chapter about the neutralizer, but I haven't read any chapter that mentioned a Bronze Sector?"

Myka just gave Pete a glare that seemed to say, 'He's reading the Manuel and he hasn't been here that long.' Pete, on the other hand, returned with a 'Would you give me a break' expression.

"The Bronze Sector is like a prison but more secure." Artie explained. "Where the most evil people throughout history have been preserved."

"Frozen in suspended animation for the rest of eternity. Never again to see the light of day." MacPherson added, almost like he was going to enjoy his situation. "It's a great honor to be bronzed."

"Because that means you're very evil?" Ron asked, almost amused that someone would want to be bronzed.

"You flatter me, Ronald." MacPherson just smiled with pride. "It's too bad your friend abandoned you, or your other friend didn't survive that eventful night with that pocket watch."

Ron's amusement faded as quickly as it appeared and he stepped forward, grabbing the man. He surprised everyone when MacPherson was lifted up off the ground by Ron and slammed into the door. Ron's appearance didn't suggest that he was strong but his strength seemed almost supernatural.

"How did you know about that?" Ron demanded. "No one was able to understand what actually happened. How..."

Ron stopped when he and MacPherson locked eyes for several seconds, prompting information he couldn't be sure. MacPherson knew more but Ron wasn't sure what.

"Why did you place that pocket watch there?" Ron shouted. "WHY?"

While Pete and Myka tried to pry Ron's hands off their prisoner, MacPherson remained calm, appearing both honored, yet insulted. "You give me too much credit, Ronald. I know all about you and your abilities. I'm not foolish enough to cross you."

"Then if you have nothing to hide," Ron said, calming down and lowering MacPherson to the ground. "Then tell me where you hid Lotus Blade."

MacPherson thought about it until he realized what Ron was accusing him of stealing. "You mean to tell me that someone stole it?" He then scoffed at the accusation. "I'll admit that I was interested in 'acquiring' it, but I lack the means to obtain it. The only one I know that would have the means to get it was an old nemeses of yours. One obsessed with the power you possess."

"Monkey Fist." Pete said, drawing attention from everyone in the room to him. "What? I try to keep up to date with what I can."

"I tried seeking him out," MacPherson continued. "I know he was cursed and turned to stone but someone already found him before me, and released him from his stone prison. I never did find out who it was."

Ron's eyes remained locked with MacPherson, listening to everything he said. No matter how many times Ron went over it in his head, he could detect no lie in James MacPherson. Ron knew MacPherson was telling the truth. He sighed and completely released MacPherson. No matter what he wanted, he couldn't just say the former Warehouse Agent was the thief. Ron didn't get a good look at the man he saw in the Smart Mart store but he vaguely recall some differences between MacPherson and that man a week ago. He just wasn't sure what the differences were.

Ron stepped away and watched as Artie, Pete and Myka took MacPherson out of the office and towards the Bronze Sector.

His next object was to track down Monkey Fist but it would take time since he had no idea where Monkey Fist would be at that time. And he knew that during that time Ron searched for Monkey Fist, his adversary would be moving closer toward their objective.

* * *

On a side note, the scene when Mrs. Frederic checked the security recording on Artie's computer was an actual scene that can be found in the deleted scenes of the episode _MacPherson _from the Complete 1st Season of Warehouse 13 on DVD.

As always, please leave a review, comment, concern, suggestions and/or constructive criticisms you may have. No flames and keep it clean.


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